BILLINGS & RED LODGE // Area Intro & Highlights

BILLINGS & RED LODGE

The Big Sky State gets even bigger as you travel from Red Lodge, nestled in the Beartooth Mountains and surrounded by the Custer Gallatin National Forest, to Billings, where the foothills of the Rockies roll gently out into the endless vistas of central Montana. These neighboring towns started from two storied Montana industries: mining and the railroad.

Red Lodge began as a coal mining town, but when the Depression took its toll on mining, a local physician came up with a brilliant idea to boost the local economy: he successfully lobbied Congress for a scenic approach highway to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Highway 212, more commonly known as the Beartooth Highway, opened in 1936 and continues to awe travelers as it climbs to the 10,974foot summit pass, offering jaw-dropping panoramas of the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness before descending to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone.

Red Lodge remains a vibrant community of 2,200 year-round residents and was just named the #1 Tourism Destination of the Year in Montana. Its charming historic downtown is packed with restaurants, galleries, and shops, including stores to outfit you for any of the area’s endless recreation opportunities, from fly fishing the Yellowstone River to carving turns on Red Lodge Mountain.

Billings’ fortunes were made as a major railroad hub. In fact, Billings is named for Northern Pacific Railway President Frederick Billings, who was also a major voice for the conservation of Yellowstone National Park. The town earned the nickname “Magic City” because it went from a settlement of three houses to a population

of over 2,000 in a matter of months, appearing almost like magic.

Today, it is Montana’s largest city and continues its legacy as the regional trade and distribution center, serving a swath of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. In addition to a thriving economy, Billings is a city packed with life and activity. Downtown boasts the Brew Trail, Montana’s only walkable brewery tour, featuring six breweries, two distilleries, and a cider house within a 1.5-mile loop. The Magic City Blues Festival draws thousands of fans each summer, with headliners from ZZ Top to Ziggy Marley. To top it off, the outdoors beckon in every direction. The recreational opportunities gave the city its second nickname, Montana’s Trailhead, and it truly is the perfect place to begin and end your next Montana adventure.

ADVENTURE STARTS HERE

UNIQUE OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND IN BILLINGS

Thousands of miles of trails wind through the state of Montana, but no two paths offer the same view. In Billings, one of the most striking natural features is the Rimrocks, sandstone cliffs that rise above the north end of the city. They were created tens of millions of years ago when Billings was the shore of the Western Interior Seaway, a swath of water that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic. They’re now home to fun and challenging hiking and biking trails that provide a bird’s eye view over Billings and the surrounding mountain ranges.

Another fascinating look at Montana’s prehistory is Pictograph Cave State Park. Pictograph Cave contains more than 100 rock paintings—pictographs—some of which date back more than 2,000 years. Between this cave and the two other caves in the park, researchers excavated more than 30,000 artifacts, including stone tools and items that indicated trade with other people groups, such as seashell beads from the Pacific Coast and barbed harpoon points made of caribou horn. An insider tip: the pictographs look their best after a rainstorm or snowmelt, when the moisture makes the colors more prominent.